Suspected Drunk Driver Hits School Bus

A suspected drunk driver slammed into a school bus Tuesday afternoon on Mariner Boulevard.

The bus was northbound on Mariner near Ireland Street when a Dodge minivan struck it from behind around 3:25 p.m., according to the Florida Highway Patrol. No students were on the bus at the time, but an employee of the school district riding as a passenger, Rosemarie Geschwindner, 61, received minor injuries, according to a report.

Arriving troopers determined the minivan's driver, Patricia Kluge, 45, of Spring Hill, was under the influence of alcohol and tried to arrest her. Kluge put up a fight kicking, biting and head-butting troopers as they wrangled her into the back of the cruiser, a report states. Once inside the car, she tried to kick out the windows, troopers say.

Neither of the troopers was injured.

Kluge was taken to the Hernando County Jail where she reportedly provided a blood alcohol level of .242 - three times Florida's legal limit of .08.

Kluge was charged with DUI, DUI with property damage, DUI with personal injury, battery on a law enforcement officer, resisting arrest with violence and driving on a suspended license. Also, she was additionally arrested on a warrant out of Pasco County for failure to appear in traffic court.